TRACING BY GRAVITY OF A NARROW BURIED GRABEN STRUCTURE,DETECTED BY SEISMIC REFRACTION,FOR GROUND-WATER INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTH CHILE*

In the Andes mountains of North Chile seismic refraction measurements revealed the existence of a buried graben structure. The special geological environment permitted the deduction, by detailed analyses of diffraction patterns and delayed arrival times, of a low velocity layer underneath a high velocity ignimbritic sheet. The gravity method was chosen as an economic secondary aid to trace the course of the buried structure. This unusual combination of detailed gravity measurements following a general seismic survey was not only successful in detecting and tracing a buried structure, but also provided complementary data about the deeper subsurface conditions.